Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League baseball as a catcher for fifteen seasons (1943 to 1957) with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. Strong, tough and durable, and often playing hurt, he was the anchoring backstop for the 1950 Phillies “Whiz Kids" that won the National League Pennant. Arriving in the Majors in the War year of 1943, he backed up catchers Mickey Livingston and Bob Finley for a few years before coming into his own as the Phils starting catcher in 1945. As the Phillies started to shed their years-long abysmal playing performances in the mid to late 1940s with the drafting of talents such as Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts, Andy Seminick grew into an important component of that rise to respectability. He produced steady if unspectacular numbers on offense, while gaining in skill as a catcher. In 1949 he had what could be considered a break out year, reaching career highs in Home Runs (24) and RBIs (68), was well as being named starting catcher for the National League All-Star team (the next Phillies catcher to be named an NL starter would be Bob Boone in 1979, 30 years later). On June 2 of that year he smacked two Home Runs in the 8th Inning against the Reds, which added to three other Phillies Home Runs in the inning to tied the National League record. The next year, 1950, his leadership and fiery on-field demeanor (as well as his career high .288 Batting Average) helped contribute to the Phillies first National League Pennant since 1915. In a September 27th game that year he suffered a bone separation in his ankle, but kept it hidden as the Phillies defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in the last game of the year on Dick Sisler’s three-run home from to take the NL Title. The injury hobbled him in the World Series, which saw the Whiz Kids fall to the New York Yankees in four games. His production slipping in the next season, he was dealt to Cincinnati in December 1951 along with Pennant hero Sisler and two other players for four players, including catcher Smokey Burgess. While his catching skills remained strong, he never achieved the offensive numbers with the Reds he once had with the Phils. After six games into the 1955 season, the Reds traded him and two other players back to the Phillies for Burgess and two others. He played as a backup and spot starter for Philadelphia before retiring at the beginning of the 1957 season to coach with the team. He spent 1957 and 1958 with the parent club before going to the Minor Leagues to manage. Except for a return to coaching in 1967 to 1969, he managed Phillies Minor League teams from 1959 to 1973, and helped developed players like Mike Schmidt, Bob Boone, Greg Luzinski and others who made up the powerful Phillies teams of the mid 1970s and early 1980s. Right up to his passing he worked in the Phillies system as a scout and roving instructor. His career totals were 1,304 Games Played, 953 Hits, 495 Runs, 164 Home Runs, 556 RBI and a career .243 Batting Average. When he died in February 2004, he was the last living everyday player from the Whiz Kids. (bio by: Russ Dodge)

On this date 62 years ago -- May 24, 1952 -- Andy Seminick went 3 for 4, including two homers, and drove in six runs to power the Cincinnati Reds to an 11-5 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.-
RonAdded: May. 24, 2014